Dr. Ratana Panpanich
Chiang Mai University

Health service system research

Dr. Panpanich is networking with the Center for Disease Control Region 10 in Chiang Mai and now involving in health service system research, particularly on tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Her on-going study is an evaluation of the provision of antiretroviral drugs to persons living with HIV/AIDS by the Ministry of Public Health's Access to Care project in northern Thailand. A cross-sectional survey for rapid assessment has been completed and a thousand of HIV infected adults in the cohort will be monitored and followed-up continuously. Apart from the HIV research, she will be involved in the multi-center studies on tuberculosis with three other countries, India; Zambia and Peru, which is supported by World Health Organization. This will start in the year 2003 and the nine hospitals in three provinces in the north will be participating.